


I Swear I'll Be There For You

by Rivulet027



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Chopper needs a Hug, Distrust, Families of Choice, Gen, Home, Kanan Jarrus Has PTSD, Kanan Jarrus Needs a Hug, POV Kanan Jarrus, Pre-Star Wars: Rebels, Sabine Wren Needs a Hug, Sabine Wren centric, Second Chances, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22371982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rivulet027/pseuds/Rivulet027
Summary: Sabine joins the team.
Relationships: C1-10P | Chopper & Sabine Wren, Hera Syndulla & Sabine Wren, Kanan Jarrus & Sabine Wren, Space Family (Star Wars Rebels)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 69
Collections: FandomWeekly (2019-2020) Writing Challenge on Dreamwidth





	I Swear I'll Be There For You

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Star Wars. It's not my toy box and I'm merely playing.
> 
> A/N: Written for the fandom weekly challenge betrayal with the bonus challenge "I've got the sinking feeling I can never go home" on DW. The bonus line and title taken from the song [Diving Bell](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6hbIPy_H9o) by Starset. Some references to the Kanan comic books and the book A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller. There is one moment between Kanan and Hera where they touch foreheads and well that's canon and it can be either seen as gen or established relationship.

Chopper finds the girl and makes Zeb bring her back to the ship. She’s nearly dead, but only nearly, and it doesn’t make too huge a dent into their meager medical supplies to see her on the mend. Physically she’ll recover quickly. Emotionally and mentally Kanan isn’t so sure. She’s a bundle of pain and betrayal wound tight. She can’t be much older than him, when he lost everything in his world that made sense. Is that why he wants to help her?

It still doesn’t explain why Chopper is so quick to trust her, but that’s Chopper: he doesn’t ever explain his loyalties. Kanan knows the droid loves Hera and is loyal to her to a fault, would probably even endanger himself just to see her safe. Chopper didn’t trust him at first, claimed he was a drunk who was going to die detoxing on the Ghost and told Hera he wasn’t going to help her clean up the mess, when Hera first brought him on board. Earning Chopper’s trust has been a slow process for Kanan. Zeb’s been with them a year and Chopper still pokes and prods the Lasat, accepting him as part of the crew, but not fully trusting him, yet.

Chopper stays by Sabine’s bedside and lets her fingers draw instinct patterns on his chassis. He sings her an Alderaanian lullaby and Kanan knows, just knows, she’s staying. Chopper only beeps that song when one of them is feeling particularly hopeless, it’s rare. Sabine’s fingers still as she asks, “Where’d you hear that one?”

“My pilot, before Hera,” Chopper tells her, the tone of his binary low and sad. Chopper doesn’t bring up his life before Hera often. They live in a universe where even the droids have scars.

“Where’s home?” Hera asks.

Sabine’s gaze flicks to the armor they’d set aside while treating her. It’s Mandolorian. The top of the helmet is black, giving way to a dark purple, then lighter purple until it seems to bleed into a blue. The blue seems to drip down the chest plate so that it looks like the helmet is crying across the rest of the armor. Sabine’s gaze settles back on Hera and she shrugs. “Maybe I don’t have one.”

Sabine radiates mistrust, but she decides to stay, for now. The ‘until something better comes along or you hurt me’ is implied. She settles in, helping them steal from the Imperials and give the supplies to those who need them. She does what she’s told, but doesn’t offer advice or insight. Kanan can feel her holding herself back. When he encourages her it earns him a suspicious glare. She’s going through the motions of being a part of their crew, but refusing to actually join them. Kanan worries she’ll leave and get herself killed. He remembers trying to make it on his own when he was that young. He remembers almost starving to death. He remembers being hunted down by clones he once thought were his friends. He also remembers how quickly he wanted to follow Hera, but how long it took to accept her and Chopper as family. Sabine will get there in her own time, if she decides she wants to stay.

Sabine wakes up screaming most nights. They tell her she can wake them if she wants to talk, even Zeb offers. She chooses to stay in her room and struggle to find sleep again. Then one night she leaves her room and heads to the cockpit. Kanan goes to wake Hera, but Chopper is already leaving the room. Hera leans into him and Kanan shifts so their foreheads touch and he can take comfort from her steady presence.

“Tea,” she tells him.

It doesn’t take long to heat the water or to fix each of them a cup of tea. When he makes his way into the cockpit carrying all three it’s to see Sabine wrapped in a blanket, her bare toes resting on top of Chopper. Hera’s sitting across from her, holding one of Sabine’s hands. Hera’s singing, soft and low, “I’ve got this sinking feeling I can never go home. If I stare into the abyss, will it stare into me?”

Kanan leans against the nearest wall as Hera continues the refrain. There are tears sliding down Sabine’s cheeks. She sniffles and then hiccups a sob before throwing herself across the aisle and into Hera’s waiting embrace. Hera holds her tight, rocking Sabine as she continues singing. Chopper bumps into his legs and insists on taking two of the mugs so Kanan can sit. He sets the other mug aside and reaches out to rub Sabine’s back as she mourns. Eventually Sabine’s crying subsides, but Hera keeps rocking her, letting the small teenager stay tucked into her. Hera’s eyes meet his and Kanan knows more surely than before: Sabine is a part of their family now.

“I know we’re not the home you’re missing or even the one you really want right now, but we’re here for you,” Kanan tells her.

Sabine sniffles and nods, burying her face against Hera’s shoulder even as she squeezes his fingers. Kanan holds on tightly. He smiles slightly as a yawning Zeb joins them. Zeb takes one look at them, then brings in blankets and starts covering all of them, before he drops into an empty seat and dozes back off. Sabine shifts so she can lean against Hera and pull the blanket around her. Kanan hands her a cup of tea. She thanks him as her hands close around it.

“I didn’t think I could have this again,” Sabine whispers.

“We’re here,” Hera reassures.


End file.
